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AIR FORCE AWARDS DUAL-USE SPACE GRANTS

Air Force officials announced eight grants today, totaling $10 million, in
conjunction with the 1994 Dual-Use Launch Facility Grant Program. Congress
began this program in 1993 to develop dual-use space launch facilities to meet
both Department of Defense and commercial space launch requirements. Grant
recipients are:

Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation, Anchorage, Alaska, $750,000

American Rocket Company, Ventura, Calif., $326,000

Astrotech, Silver Spring, Md., $1.1 million

Moonspace Corporation, Lompoc, Calif., $267,000

Practical Innovations, Woodbridge, Va., $980,000

Spaceport Florida Authority, Cocoa Beach, Fla., $2.74 million

State of New Mexico, Santa Fe, N.M. $750,000

Western Commercial Space Center, Lompoc, Calif., $3 million

Eligible projects include technical studies that define how new or enhanced
DOD space launch facilities hardware, software, or operations processes can
best meet the needs of the U.S. commercial space launch industry; engineering
and designing of such space launch facilities hardware, software or operations
processes; and construction or improvement of space launch facilities within
the United States. Grants contribute up to 75 percent a project's total
proposed cost. Six grants totaling $10 million were awarded under this program
in 1993.

The Dual-Use Launch Facility Grant Program provides initial startup funds for
space launch projects which ultimately will support the President's National
Space Transportation Policy commitment to encouraging a viable commercial U.S.
space transportation industry, as well as defense conversion efforts and the
exploitation of dual-use technologies.